Covid-19 Recovery: Optimising routes for scaled-up production of high value pear midge pheromones

新冠肺炎全球大流行影响了英国使用可持续绿色化学路线(遵循绿色化学12原则生产)生产特种化学品的研发，包括用于控制影响英国食品生产系统的害虫的信息素。这场大流行使普英森公司计划的研发活动推迟了几个月，该公司计划在那里开始开发可持续和绿色的蚊虫信息素生产路线，以开发商业规模生产蚊虫信息素的路线。现在，该公司当务之急是推动这一新的创新，为害虫管理提供高价值、目前无法获得的蚊虫信息素。这不仅将通过减少使用化石燃料为基础的原料的杀虫剂生产来提供积极的气候影响，而且还将通过以综合防治为基础的战略提供可持续的和气候友好的害虫管理。在全球虫害管理行业，包括在英国、欧盟地区、北美和南美洲，蚊子问题已经根深蒂固，蚊子管理是一个潜在的有利可图和不断增长的市场。对蚊子的管理是有问题的；它们的生命周期意味着谷物和水果可能接触到杀虫剂，这些杀虫剂随后进入人类和动物食物链。此外，全球趋势是在粮食生产中摆脱对化学农药的依赖，转而采用病虫害综合管理战略。杀虫剂药效的丧失、立法监管导致的农药可获得性以及与农药使用相关的环境问题也推动了对IPM战略的需求。信息素是IPM策略的关键组成部分，但与其他作物害虫相比，目前市场上几乎没有可获得的吸浆性信息素。PheroSyn目前的投资组合中已经有可供市场使用的吸虫信息素，但有机会通过将目前无法获得的新的吸虫信息素开发成有效的商业产品来扩大这一组合。这个为期6个月的试验性开发项目的目标是为生产两种高价值的蚊虫信息素优化绿色化学路线，这两种高价值的蚊虫信息素将用于特定的诱蚊陷阱，能够检测到作物中早期的蚊虫侵扰。对路线的优化将使PheroSyn能够加快业务增长，向全球范围内的农民和种植者提供有效、敏感、持久、安全、负担得起的离散工具。Phero Syn对蚊虫信息素生产的优化将得到公司创始人的技术诀窍的支持。该团队在害虫信息素研发和信息素化学方面拥有40多年的经验。

The COVID-19 global pandemic has affected UK R&D in the manufacture of speciality chemicals using sustainable green chemistry routes (produced adhering to the 12 Principles of Green Chemistry), including pheromones that are used to manage insect pests affecting UK food production systems. The pandemic has delayed, by several months, PheroSyn's proposed R&D activity on developing routes for commercial scale production of midge pheromones where the company was poised to begin developing sustainable and green chemistry routes for midge pheromone production. It is now imperative for the company to drive forward this new innovation of supplying the high-value, not currently available midge pheromones for pest management. Not only will this provide a positive climate impact through reduced pesticide production that use fossil-fuel based feedstocks, but it will also provide sustainable and climate-friendly management of pests through IPM based strategies.Midges are small (ca. 3mm long), fragile flying insects that affect a variety of crops and are a significant global pest of arable and horticultural food production. Midge management is a potentially lucrative and growing market in the pest management industry globally, including in the UK, the EU region, North America and South America, where midge problems are well established. Management of midges is problematic; their life-cycles mean that grains and fruits can be potentially exposed to pesticides which subsequently enter the human and animal food chain. Furthermore, there is a global trend to move away from reliance on chemical pesticides in food production in favour of integrated pest management (IPM) strategies. The need for IPM strategies is also driven by loss in efficacy of pesticides, pesticide availability due to legislative regulation, and environmental issues associated with pesticide use. Pheromones form a critical component of IPM strategies, but, compared to other crop pests, there are virtually no midge sex pheromones currently available on the market.PheroSyn already has market-ready midge pheromones in its current portfolio but there is an opportunity to expand this portfolio by developing further new not-currently available midge pheromones into effective commercial products. PheroSyn aims at commercialising insect sex pheromones for sale into the established agribusiness sector, and to capitalise on expertise in novel methods for monitoring and control of a wide range of crop pests important to crop health and production.The objective of this 6-month experimental development project is for PheroSyn to optimise green chemistry routes for the production of two high-value midge pheromones, to be used in midge-specific traps that are capable of detecting early stage infestations of midges in crops. Optimisation of the routes will enable PheroSyn to accelerate business growth, supplying effective, sensitive, long-lasting, safe, affordable and discrete tools to farmers and growers on a global scale.PheroSyn's optimisation of midge pheromone production will be underpinned by the company founders' technical know-how. The PheroSyn team has a combined 40+ years of experience in pest pheromone R&D and pheromone chemistry.